Alex Chalk MP has raised the prospect of additional investment in specialist emergency medicine doctors at Cheltenham General Hospital. He highlighted the issue directly with Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt MP during a debate in Parliament (18 June 2108).
The difficuly in recruiting specialist A&E doctors was the main reason given by the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust when they withdrew night-time, doctor–led A&E services from Cheltenham General Hospital.
The Cheltenham MP has regularly championed the return of 24/7 doctor-led A&E at Cheltenham General Hospital.
During a debate on the NHS Long-Term Plan, Alex Chalk explored how NHS Trusts could use the extra 20bn cash being given by the Government. He asked the Health Secretary to confirm if it could be used “to attract and retain additional doctors in tough-to-recruit fields such as emergency medicine, to support and extend A&E in hospitals such as Cheltenham General Hospital?”
Alex Chalk explained “£20bn is an enormous funding boost. The Health Secretary has agreed that recruitment will be one of the top priorities for the additional cash. This is the perfect opportunity for the Trust to recruit the specialist doctors that Cheltenham General Hospital’s A&E needs.”